Flag pole for ZFC0225, Tower Contrada Palio Flag.

Flag pole for ZFC0225, an original Italian Tower Contrada (district) Palio flag.
This Contrada Palio flag was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum.

Built in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young Museum was founded in 1895, making San Francisco's first museum. It was a popular venue from its founding, central to Bay Area arts and culture and visited by millions of visitors for over 100 years.

This expandable brass pole came with the flag, but it is not known if the pole is original to the flag, or hardware furnished by the de Young Museum for displaying its flag. It is unique and different from all of the other Palio poles and staffs.

Michael Henry de Young (1849 -1925) was an American journalist and businessman who owned and published the San Francisco Chronicle. He used his wealth to further his eclectic tastes and accumulated a collection of immense variety, such as sculptures, paintings, arms and armor, porcelain, native American and South Pacific artifacts, polished tree slabs, paintings, objet d'art, jewelry, a door allegedly from Newgate Prison, birds' eggs, handcuffs and thumbscrews, and a collection of knives and forks. In addition, as San Francisco's premier repository the de Young Museum came to house a number of flags. De Young displayed many of these in a museum Flag Room, to which this staff possibly originates.

The flag is dated to circa 1888 and is in good condition, with a minor tear on the bottom edge. It is made of silk and is hand-stitched.

Provenance: Acquired at auction for Butterfields and Butterfields auction of the de Young museum collection deaccession in 1997.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Might be labeled ZFC1498 at Atthowe, error noted 24 May 2024 - JF

Sources:

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History of the de Young Museum, de Young, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 7 December 2011, from:
http://deyoung.famsf.org/about/history-de-young-museum

THE PALIO HORSE RACE, ilpalio.org, 7 December 2011, from: http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm

Contrade of Siena, Wikipedia7 December 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrade_of_Siena

Palio di Siena, Wikipedia, 7 December 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palio_di_Siena

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	0.75
Length of Fly	88.5

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	63
Frame Length	65

Stars
Are there stars on obverse?	no
Are there stars on reverse?	no

Stripes
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	88.5" collapsed 144" extended

Nationality
Nation Represented	Italy

Fabric
Fabric	Metal
Comments on Fabric	Brass

Attachment
Method of Attachment	None

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Good
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1890's